Stray Little Dogs
by Our Last Wish
Summary: (cover art creds to YoukaiYume) Kagome has always wanted to help out little stray dogs. A certain stoic inu daiyoukai is no exception. AU.
1. Prologue

**I decided to write this all and split it up into six chapters. I posted them all at once, so sorry, followers, for the spam of emails.**

 **Summary: Kagome has always wanted to help out little stray dogs. A certain stoic inu daiyoukai is no exception.**

* * *

"All these stray dogs on rainy days make me so sad." The young girl said to her friend.

"They smell really bad, though. And they might have a disease or something." The friend played with her pony tail.

"I guess. Hey, Sango! Where'd it go?" she noticed the dog had disappeared.

"Whatever, we shouldn't bother." Sango wanted to get out of the rain. The wind blew against their shared umbrella.

"I think I have some leftovers from lunch here. I'm wanna try finding it." She said.

"What? Come on, we're almost back to your place." Sango pleaded.

"Fine, you can keep the umbrella. I got a hood, anyways." She said, flipping it up.

"Kagome! Your mother is going to worry about you. And it's getting darker and colder. It's just a dog." She scolded and grabbed onto her friend's arm.

"Then just wait here a sec. I won't be long." Kagome insisted and ran off. Sango huffed, but stood in place.

"It's cold." She whined as her friend ran off.

Kagome clutched the lunch box close to herself to prevent it getting soaked. She went down the sidewalk and jumped over a large crack. Her boots splashed on the wet mud as she got onto the grass. She grabbed onto the wet metal railing as she looked down on the slope.

"Where could that dog have gone?" She mumbled to herself. In the distance, she could see the ocean. It was tumultuous and stormy. On a nice day, it could be easily seen, but the rain thundered right now. She scanned the area again, but decided to return to Sango. That was, until she saw a puff of dirty white down the muddy slope. The dog! It was stuck in the mud in the middle of the slope.

"Oh god!" She exclaimed. She took off her nice coat and decided to get down and dirty.

"Come here, doggy." She cooed as she stuck her shoes in the mud. Gross, but we make sacrifices for the things we love. Or little lost puppies. The wind picked up and the rain felt like little pricks. She slid down one foot a little more, keeping wary of the dangerous conditions. If she happened to slide all the way to the bottom, it'd mean climbing quite a way in a lightly wooded area. And then she'd have to found a way back up here. The dog barked and pulled her out of her thoughts. She pulled out a bag of shortbread cookies and clumsily ripped it open.

"Wanna cookie?" she placed it near the dog. It looked at it warily before sniffing.

"Come here, please." She pleaded, but the dog was still wary.

"Kagome!" she heard Sango in the distance.

"I'm here, Sango!" She cried out, but she doubted it would carry far. The dog's ears peaked up, holding the treat in his mouth. Yes! Finally! She held out another in her hand. The dog sniffed, but ate complacently like it didn't realize it's own situation. She couldn't hear her friend anymore, but she started to pet the dog.

"Come on, it's ok." She started cooing again. His tail started to wag and she smiled.

"You're gonna have to let me help you, ok?" she fed it the treat.

"Kagome!" Sango was nearer.

'Sango, I'm down here!" She needed her friend's attention. She saw Sango at her coat and cried out again, her friend finally seeing her.

"What are you doing down there?" she yelled.

"The dog!" she yelled back. It was hard to hear, but her friend's worry was evident.

"Don't worry!" she yelled. She continued to pet the dog and went into a softer voice.

"I know you're not going to like this, so sorry in advance." She wrapped her arms around the dog and he got a little jumpy.

"Kagome!" Sango yelled again, helpless in this situation. Kagome picked up the unwilling dog and struggled to get back to the top. Sango saw her friend with the back drop of the trees and ocean and lightning in the sky. The ground slipped beneath her. Kagome fell into the mud. The dog whined, frightened. It bit her hand. Hard. She cried out. She reached the other hand out. Sango acted, grabbing onto her friend's and holding on for dear life.

"Just let go of the dog!" She pleaded. Kagome refused to through oncoming tears. Her hand was bleeding, but she kept a tight grip on the dog. With Sango's help, she was back onto stable road and concrete.

"Can you hand me my coat?" she asked her friend. Sango passed it to her and she wrapped the dog up.

"Sorry, buddy. No more biting for you. Bad dog." She scolded.

"Where are you taking that thing?" Sango asked, revolted.

"The vet or a dog shelter. I dunno." She was muddy, soaked to the bone, and injured, but proud of her act of heroism.

"No you aren't because those places are closed by this time." They were on the way back to Kagome's house and were ready for scolding.

"I can't believe you drag me into these situations." Sango complained.

There was some yelling, digging up an old dog cage, some really needed baths, and some cups of tea. Kagome was laughing with Sango. Her mother bandaged up her hand up with some anti-infection cream on it. Of course, her mother was mad, but her daughter's carelessness was commonplace. They agreed to take the dog to a vet and shelter the next day and to get Kagome some shots, which upset her.

"That's what you get for helping a stray dog." Her mother chided.

"I have to get a rabies shot? Does anyone even get rabies anymore?" she asked.

"Yes. And they die from it." Her mother said. That shut her daughter up.

It was late, late hours of the night when Kagome slipped out of the room Sango was staying over in. She tip-toed in the silent house. She arrived at the dog's kennel. It was a she and she was feisty, but friendly and loving for a stray. Her mother said she has probably not been a stray for very long.

"Hello, puppy." She whispered in the darkness and laid on her stomach. The dog's ears perked up and she lifted her head.

"Momma says we can't keep you, but I hope you find a home." She started to play with her hair. The dog's fur was pretty and white after the struggle in the bathtub. It was fun, though. She got to spend time with her friend, mother, and toddler brother.

"It's my hobby, you know? The car accident happened when I was so young, so I didn't know him that well. It's been a couple of years. Momma says he was so selfless and ready to help others." The dog pressed her nose again the bars and Kagome giggled.

"I'm not ready to help people, but I'm always ready to help animals. I'm not a dog person 'cause I don't have preferences, but dogs always prefer me more than cats. I've gotten so many scratches! None like your little bite, though." She tapped on the bar of the kennel. There was a little silence.

"Kagome?" she heard Sango murmur behind her.

"What are you doing up?" Kagome asked.

"I could ask you the same thing." Sango responded. Sitting beside her friend.

"I guess." She whispered back. They sat for a while, like that. Watching the dog. Enjoying the other's presence.

"You're my best friend, Sango." Kagome broke the silence with.

"I've known you ever since my family moved back to the shrine. And you're the person who I always can be with and not feel awkward." She continued, smiling.

"Me, too, Kagome. You're easy to talk to and be with. I'm glad our parents get along, too." They laughed a little together.

"Wouldn't it be cool if your father married my mom and then we could be sisters!" Kagome got louder with her whispering.

"Then we could have sleepovers like this all the time!" Sango got excited, too. They knew their parents weren't interested in the other like that, but it was always fun to fantasize.

"I'd be Higurashi Sango!" She laughed again.

"Girls, what are you doing up?" They whipped their heads around to see Ms. Higurashi.

"We're sleep walking." Kagome laughed out.

"Then why are you are on the ground?" her mom smiled.

"Ummm, you're sleep walking! We're not really here, so you should just go back to sleep." Sango said.

"Get to bed soon, you girls." She insisted.

"Kay.' They groaned and got up. Ms. Higurashi left, trusting her daughter and her friend to be reasonable enough to get some sleep.

"I think we can get through anything together, Kagome." Sango told her friend.

"And we will."


	2. Chapter 1

_We wish you the best on this happy day because we bear good news…_

 _You are cordially invited to the engagement party of Sango and Miroku!_

 _Celebrate with us and save the date for…_

Tears dripped onto the paper. She heard knocking on her bedroom door and wiped at her face.

"Kagome, what was in that letter that you got?" her mother asked as she walked in. She didn't notice her daughter's watery eyes.

"Oh, it's nothing." She turned it over inconspicuously.

"Just a letter from Sango." She insisted.

"A letter? In this age of texting and email." Her mother raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." Kagome did not elaborate. Her mother pursed her lips.

"Ok." Her mother replied, disbelieving, but left. The door closed and Kagome stared at the white and gold letter. Sango had graduated two years ago. It was tearful for the two girls, but they promised to keep in touch. Sango had known and dated Miroku for a long time, so the engagement was a long ways coming. Kagome understood college life was different from high school. She understood it was hard to keep in touch with some high school student. It was just, the engagement seemed to solidify the gap between them. They were in two different worlds and nothing would be like before. Kagome was already accepted to a couple of amazing colleges, but she did not plan to go to the same one as Sango. They had planned it for a long time. They would become world famous doctors, surgeons, mathematicians, rocket scientists. But then the real world caught up with them. Sango found her passion in criminal law and Kagome with history. It made her heart wrench. Kagome had friends, but none had been as close to her heart as Sango. She couldn't blame her, though. Time moves on and Kagome doesn't. She traced a scar on the back of her hand. Caused by a cat. Everyone had thought she'd end up as a vet or animal person, but that was only a hobby.

She crumpled up the invite and threw it away. She would avoid this problem for now. Right now, she was going to run and forget her feelings. Literally.

"Momma, I'm going to go for a jog." She slipped on some sweats and some earbuds.

"No you aren't. It's almost dark out." Her mom was at the dinner table helping Souta with math homework.

"Please? Just a little. Around the block. The way I've done it a million times." She could see her daughter's bad mood and ceded.

"Not fifteen minutes." She said.

"Don't get lost." Souta teased. He and Sango's brother Kohaku hung out a lot. Kohaku had entered high school this year, though, and Souta was still in middle. He didn't take it so hard, though. Maybe it's a boy thing.

She took off and let herself get caught up in the mechanical thump of her feet on the ground. Pop music blasted in her head. She didn't recognize the artists or the songs, but she liked it as white noise. Noise to block out this crushing guilt. She couldn't avoid this forever, but she could try.

In the dying daylight, she saw a white puff. The amount of strays in this city was upsetting, but served good pastime for her hobby. She slowed to a walk and pulled the earbuds out before grabbing some treats.

"Hey, big guy." She went over to it, but sensed something was wrong. On closer approach, she saw blood. Her heart stopped. The dog looked dead, but its chest was going up and down. There were gashes. Fresh blood. Old blood. One of the hind legs didn't look right. It was a mess. She speed-dialed her mother.

"Momma, please, you have to drive out here! No, I'm ok, but I've found this dog and…god, momma! You gotta drive out here!"

* * *

Kagome cried in the back seat as the dog, still unconscious, was wrapped in a blanket.

"You gave us a scare back there, dear. Souta wanted to tag along, but I insisted that he finish his homework." Her mother drove the short distance back to the temple.

"I don't think there's much we can do on our own, but I'll give Kaede at the animal shelter a call." They were a familiar contact due to Kagome's affinity for injured animals. Kaede was a sweet old lady. Kagome enjoyed their friendship, especially with Sango gone.

"There's so much blood." She cried out. It was normal for Kagome to cry when she empathized with a certain animal's pain. This was something unusual though. A person must have inflicted these injuries. An animal abuser.

"It can't die, it can't." She wiped at her face when she saw their house come into view. It was going to be a long night.

"You'll help me carry him in, won't you?" she asked.

"Yes, dear." And so the duo worked quickly and carefully. Souta got excited at the seriousness of this situation. He'd barely made a dent in his homework, though, so he wasn't a part of the action. Kagome did the best she could. She washed the dog's injuries, antiseptic, bandaging them, doing their best to set the hind leg. There was definitely something wrong, but Kagome rarely worked with broken bones. She didn't want to screw anything up.

"It's getting late, dear. You should get some sleep before school tomorrow." Her mother advised as she was off to bed.

"Soon, momma. I have one more thing to do and then I'm off." She insisted. Her mother went to bed, disbelieving, but tired. She was right. Kagome had no intention of getting to bed any time soon. She was grateful for this distraction from Sango. The shed out back had become Kagome's little base of operations. They learned the hard way of the downsides to keeping a stray in the house. This most recent dog was not put in a cage or kennel due to the severity of injuries. Kagome went out with a cool compress to check in. Breathing was more stabilized, but still worrisome. Blood was seeping through some of the bandages, through, so she wrapped some more on top. The mound of blankets was comfortable and the sound of the night lulled the weary Kagome to sleep.

A hand on her throat startled her.

"Where am I?" a male voice demanded. She became paralyzed with fear. When did she fall asleep? God, she was so stupid to fall asleep in the shed! She probably didn't even lock the door. A murderer probably broke in. God, she was going to die.

"Don't make me repeat myself." He threatened. His nails were long and sharp. It was dark, but she could tell he had traditional wear and long hair. Unusual.

"Hi-Higurashi Shrine." Her voice trembled as did she. She looked over to find the dog, but all she found were bandages. It probably ran away at the sound of intruder and open shed door. She looked over, though, and the door wasn't open.

"Why am I here?" he demanded. She whimpered and his grip tightened.

"What do you mean?" she whimpered.

"What am I doing here?" he demanded again. Her heart was thumping hard. She thought he was crazy. He was a wandering lunatic. He didn't seem drunk or on drugs, but who was she to know.

"I don't- I don't know." She said. She didn't expect him to fall to the ground. She froze for a second before turning on the light. She gasped. For a moment, she thought he might be cosplaying or something. His pointed ears, facial markings, and long, white hair. But then she noticed his white kimono stained red from various gashes. Swollen leg. Ripped bandages hanging from him in some areas.

She never believed in ghosts or demons from her grandfather's stories. She thought that he was trying to scare her. Now, though. Now, she had no explanation for this.

"Are you awake?" she whispered. No movement.

"H-Hello?" she asked louder. Nothing. She tapped the uninjured part of his arm with her shoe. Nada. She bent down and stared at his face. It didn't look like SFX, the markings. She rolled down her sleeve and used it to white at the crescent moon. It didn't budge. Either it was good make up or nothing. No. She looked at his ears. They didn't look fake, but they couldn't be real. This was quite the situation.

"I should, uh, call the police?" she whispered to herself. As she exited, she noticed the door was locked. That would mean the intruder somehow got the door locked after he got inside or who knows. She went back to the house to grab her mobile phone, but returned to the shed before a call. When she got back, the dog was lying in place of the man. Ripped bandages. Gashes. Swollen hind leg. Her mind felt like sludge. She moved so slowly. The crescent moon shape on the dog's forehead was undeniable. She dropped her phones and it clattered left to right, left to right. She couldn't summon her voice. She wanted to scream, pretend this wasn't real. She pinched herself and winced in pain. She looked down and the dog and it was very much real. The pain on her throat was very much real. She couldn't have hallucinated, could she? No, no, no. No. This was not happening. It was, though. She got out a cage and pushed the dog in there.

"Sorry if you're not a lunatic man…ugh, maybe I'm the lunatic." She whispered. She didn't know how to explain to her mother the situation. No, please don't take the critically injured dog to get help because it's a man. No, she didn't believe that herself. Ugh, what could she do?


	3. Chapter 2

"You're burning up!" her mother exclaimed. Kagome coughed a little.

"I'm sorry, momma. I spent all night in the shed." Which was not a lie.

"It's freezing out there at night, dear, you know that. I'll have to call the school." Higurashi Kagome was not the type to skip school. She had never, but this was a serious circumstance. She refused to believe this was even happening, but she had to disprove her theory.

Once her mom left with Souta, Kagome took out the hidden heat compress and returned it to its proper place. She grabbed an old base ball bat before approaching the shed.

"Here goes nothing." She said to herself. She opened the door and opened it. Her heart dropped as she saw the metal barring was warped and broken. She looked over and there was the man. The door was locked all night. There was no way. She took out a sutra her grandpa taught her to make years ago and stuck in on the man.

"W-wake up!" her voice trembled. He laid there. She poked him with this baseball bat.

"Wake up!" she said a little louder. He began to stir and she yelped, backing up. As his eyes opened, she held up the baseball bat. They were yellow. Yellow eyes. Not normal.

"D-don't- don't move!" she clutched onto the baseball bat. His eyes went up to the sutra. He flicked it off and she yelped again.

"You think a flimsy thing like that-" he began to move, but winced in pain.

"What are you!" she blurted out. Her face heated up, feeling so stupid.

"There's something going on here! I just wanted to take care of an injured dog on the side of the street, but instead I ended up with this!" she rambled. His eyes bore through her.

"I have no obligation to tell you what I am." He replied confidently, yet in pain. He looked strained.

"The dog I found, it, uh, it was in that cage. The cage is broken. Now you're only in here. I don't understand." She felt stupid. Of course, it wasn't possible what she was thinking, he definitely was not

"Despicable wench." He insulted before transforming back into a dog right before her eyes. Her heart stopped. Her mind stopped. Her voice stopped. Everything stopped.

There was growling. The baseball bat clattered. No. Way.

"You're a dog. You're a man that's dog or a dog that's a man, a…" she couldn't. The sound of her mother returning home broke her out of her trance.

"You! You are clearly injured. I don't care what the heck you are, but mom is going to take you to a doctor. That can't happen because…" He was snarling, but he couldn't do her any harm.

"So I'm going to hide you! I-I know you don't want to be, uh, helped, but this is-this is what I do. Bear with me for a moment." She gasped when it looked like he was trying to, uh, transform again, but it failed.

"Please don't do that." she groaned. She wrapped him up, much to his protest, and brought him inside. To her room. In her closet. Not the best predicament. Actually, a horrible predicament. Any coherent person would realize it's a dog and they're hallucinating. Or call the police. Or let the vet take care of it. Who knows! A normal person would definitely not hide dog-man in their bedroom closet.

"Kagome, what are you doing up?" her mother asked at her doorframe. Kagome was most definitely up and moving. At least dog-man was in the closet and not making any noise. So, she mustered up any of her acting skills.

"The dog isn't there anymore!" she cried out.

"I just wanted to check in on him, but-but the cage is broken and the door was locked and…" Kagome continued. Her mother became distressed.

"I'll check it out, dear, just lie down." She left. Kagome peaked open the closet door and saw a very angry little dog. Dogs. That is something she can work with.

"You're injured. I know for certain you _cannot_ go to a vet, so I'm…going to help you." Her voice trembled. She was not helping a strange man. It was just a dog. It was a dog. He did not acknowledge her, but didn't growl or anything like that. Improvement? Perhaps. She quickly ducked into bed when she heard her mother.

"It certainly is odd. Someone must have broken in. I think I'm going to make a police report." Her mother contemplated.

"Poor dog." She muttered and left. Great. Police involvement in a case with no crime. Ok. That's a problem for another day. Right now, she had to focus on helping this thing in her closet while pretending to be sick in front of her mom. It was a feat, but all materials were attainable. She awkwardly tended to the white dog while with the much too intelligent eyes.

"I know if this situation was any different, you'd prefer getting out of here. But you're in pretty critical condition. Movement with a broken limb, that's… God, I don't know if I can help you." She felt in over her head, but what else could she do? Going to the vet meant getting the dog into a shelter or otherwise, but this was no ordinary dog.

For a few days, this continued. She cared for him and left him in her room. The confining bedroom limited his movement. It was awkward. It was _weird._ Falling asleep at night and knowing he was right there. He was visibly healing (scary fast, too) but something was wrong. Infection? Illness? She didn't know. All she knew was she was stuck in this situation that no one else knew of.

"When are you going to turn human again?" she asked, soon doubting that this was more than a dog. He growled in response. She sighed. He looked strained during the short moments he was human. Sometimes she just wanted to hit her head and see her closet empty! It never was, though.

"There's got to be somewhere I can drop you off. Someone waiting for you? Someplace you stay?" she asked him one day while feeding. He continued lying there. She knew he understood the question. He was either refusing to answer or there was none.

"You certainly don't want to be stuck here." The phrase made her thoughts turn to Sango. She got out. She got accepted into a college far, far away and now she was-

"I'm going to run." She said abruptly and left. With all this running lately, she was bound to lose weight or something. It was lighter out for longer, so that meant later and longer running times. Hours spent just putting one foot in front of the other. It would leave her exhausted and perfect for passing out at night. No dreams, no nightmares.

No naps for Kagome, though. She returned to see the silver haired man in her closet. She could make a lot of jokes about this, but she refrained.

"If you were ready to leave, you'd have left by now." She remarked.

"I've been poisoned." He was straight to the point. He did look sallow and tired, but what did she know? She could tell he didn't let a lot of his pain come across. Some macho mindset or fear of others seeing him as weak. It was probably degrading for him. She sympathized with that.

"Do you need, like…something?" she felt stupid. This was different from hiding a dog in her room. This was a full grown man. Or else, she thinks so?

"Why did you bring me here?" he asked, avoiding her question.

"I don't know." She answered instinctively. He waited.

"It's what I do, I guess. I help animals. I help dogs. This is unlike anything I've had before, but ultimately it's still the same." She rambled, nervous in front of him. She could tell he was strong. Very strong. If there came a time they fought one on one, he would crush her. Even in this condition, he was stronger than a normal human.

"What are you?" she asked. An insensitive question, but he seemed an insensitive person.

"Nothing like you." He answered. Yes, very insensitive.

"Ugh, just turn back into a dog. You're easier to hide that way." She said that with annoyance, but knew that that form strained him.

"I do not follow a human's orders." He replied.

"Fine, fine. Just don't make any noise." She said as she closed the door on him. It took a moment, but she knew he transformed back.

"This is weird for me, but I know this is weird for you, too." She said with back leaned against the door.

"I always have to get up in business that isn't my own or get myself into these situations. When I saw those injuries on you, I had to act. I don't know who hurt you. I don't know who or what you are, but in the end, you are part dog. You were hurt. You're no exception." It was easy to ramble on with a door hiding her. She knew he didn't give a flying crap about what some human girl felt, but she needed to say those words.

"I know that if you had somewhere else to go, you would be there. Anywhere but here. Here we are, though." She sighed.

"Kagome?" she heard her mother knock and jumped when she walked in.

"Were you talking to someone just now?" she asked. Kagome looked at her phone across the room. Charging.

"I was talking to myself." She said and mentally slapped herself. Her mother raised an eyebrow.

"You should probably get to bed soon." She advised.

"Thank you, momma." Kagome wanted her mom out.

"I tried stopping by the police station today for updates on our little intrusion, but there's nothing. They said they're putting it on the back burner, but I think that means they're giving up." Her mother continued. Kagome wanted to groan out.

"Still nothing on that poor dog. I know how much this matters to you. My friends joke that you're probably going to horde animals in your dorm room at college." Her mother had made herself completely comfortable.

"I remember that time you came home late, completely muddy and soaked to the bone. I was so mad at you for going after that dog." She laughed.

"I don't remember that." Kagome said.

"The time you got those bite mark scars on your hand." Her mother reminded. Kagome had many scars, though. They came easily to her. Blame bad genetics.

"Well, if a stray dog bit me, I would definitely not help it like you did. You really remind me of your father sometimes." What an awkward thing to say! How do you respond to that?  
"Thanks." She replied.

"Get lots of sleep dear." And her mother bid good night.


	4. Chapter 3

"You're healing pretty fast." Kagome noted as she undid some bandages on the strange dog.

"Wish we could do something more to help that leg. Or that poison which you refused to get treated." He growled at her, which was commonplace. He's gained more strength and travels out a little sometimes. He always came back, though. The only reasoning she could come up with whatever injured him before was still out there. With no where to go, well, it's common sense. Survival instincts. He could go anywhere, but she has medicine. She couldn't ignore the feeling of dread, though, whenever she opened that closet door. Did she want it to be empty or not? She wasn't sure anymore. She liked busying herself and caring for something, even as weird as this was. It was easy to forget how abnormal this all was once a routine was set. Humans learn to cope and deal with situations directly thrown at them.

"What are you doing down here?" she saw the little dog with the slight limp. There's been a couple of close calls with her mother or Souta, but the dog was sly in his actions.

"If my mom sees you, I'm throwing you out." She said half heartedly. She did not really mean that, but it would be a mess. Isn't that the dog you said ran away and was part of a criminal case? No, that was not desirable.

"Do you need something? I'm studying." Her objects were sprawled out against the kitchen table. Textbooks, notes, her laptop. Finals season was coming up. It seemed so arbitrary because most students were already accepted to colleges. This could hardly make a difference. Her mother wanted the best, though, and it was this or cram school. For the first time in a while, he grew to his full form. It made her heart catch in her throat. She hated when he did that. It brought the reality of this situation uncomfortably close. He stood so tall, even in weakness. He was so threatening and cold.

"I don't desire to be here, human." He told her. She capped her blue high lighter.

"Why do you always return, then?" she asked. He didn't answer for a moment and she looked away.

"I'm cursed." He said with no elaboration or emotion. She looked at him again. His cuts had healed pretty well and the poison was leaving his system. So why?

"How does that correlate?" she asked wearily. It was too late to be dealing with a moody man dog.

"It simply means I cannot return to my lands at this moment." He turned away, very done with the conversation. He had said what he'd needed to say. He wasn't staying out of affection or sympathy or any emotion. It was against all will. She had many questions, but knew she could probably only fit one. Who are you? What are you? Lands? Where? There was an ocean of things she didn't know that she should be curious about.

"Cursed?" she asked. He looked back at her with his scrutinizing gaze. She ran her fingers against the grooves of the wooden chair.

"Like, how? Who did it?" she stared at the glossy wooden floor. Another moment of silence.

"Nothing you need to know." He answered coldly and turned away. He was cold. Insensitive. That type of behavior made her mad. He had no right to be acting like that at this point.

"No, I think I have some right to know." She got up and went after him. Her socks slid against the floor a little. He was so graceful, though.

"You are nothing, human." He said with so much hate. So much spite.

"I have a name!" she exclaimed, frustrated.

"I am Higurashi Kagome and without me, you would be dead!" it was a hefty statement. He narrowed his eyes.

"How dare you raise your voice at me. My true form would crush this puny house of yours." He threatened. True form?

What do you mean?" fear laced her voice. She took an involuntary step back.

"I thought you just had those two forms. Why would you have another one?" her voice shook.

"Unless…that's your curse and-" she was musing aloud. She had infuriated him.

"Keep silence on matters you know nothing about." He hissed, eyes aflame. The way his eyebrows arched and creased his skin. His slightly pointed teeth bared. She had invited a monster into her house.

"Get out. I don't care what you are, get out!" she tried to control her volume as best as possible. Her mother and Souta couldn't possibly hear her from their rooms, but it was better to be safe. He glared at her and walked out. For minutes after, she couldn't believe she did that and survived. He could have killed her. God, why did she do that? That was irrational and, god, where would he go? She didn't care.

She didn't care.

She _didn't_ care.

Kagome had trouble falling asleep that night. And the following nights. In theory, she should have been more at peace. No more hiding or worrying. But she wasn't. She'd come home and open the closet. Nothing. She needed something to occupy herself or else she would go crazy. More running. Pushing herself physically to ignore the mental strain. It was still too quiet at night, though. Even through exhaustion, she would lay awake into the early hours.

The bed sheets would get tangled in her legs and trap her in weird positions. There were too many bugs out to keep her window open, but what's the point? She can't even see the stars because of all the pollution. She finally felt herself start to sink into sleep. So close…

Thunk!

She jolted awake and looked to her window. The silver haired man. He was injured. Bleeding. Of course. She quickly slid it open. She stared into his glowing eyes. He stayed silent.

She sighed, common sense telling her to shove him out the window.

"Can you at least say what happened or why you're back?" she asked. He scoffed.

"I do not need a human's aid." He told her. Her eyebrows furrowed.

"Why else would you be here?" The wind blew through the open window and gave her goose bumps. The fury in his eyes and his pursed lips meant she wasn't getting an answer.

"Well, you can't just barge in here whenever you want and boss me around. I have things to do that don't include you." She wanted the courage and strength to fight him off. She wished she wasn't in her pajamas with bed head. She wished she wasn't small and weak.

"I'm involved with you and this!" she gestured her arms up wildly.

"I have a right to know things! I might 'just be a human,' but you are just an injured _dog-_ " she pointed at him, but he quickly grabbed her arm. His grip was tight and unforgiving.

"Humans are disgusting." He seethed at her. She could see it in his eyes. He wanted to hurt her. He wanted to kill her. She wanted to scream, but her voice was just as lost as she was.

"I don't even know why I bothered to help you." She whispered as her body slumped.

"Why did you even come back here?" she looked straight at his face. Straight into his eyes.

"Just go." She continued whispering. Hurt seeped into the creases of her face. The sinking discomfort in her stomach. Of course. She was just a girl trying to help, but what could she do? There's too much trouble in this world. She could try solving a thousand cases a day, but not make a dent by the end of her life. There were too many stray dogs for her to save them all.

And so, he left.

And into her life came a little calico cat. White with brown and black splotches. Crying out on the side of the road. Kagome did her best to content herself with just feeding him. The days passed, though, and the cat became fond of Kagome. She found herself adoring the cat in time. So, one day, she picked him up and brought him home.

"I've named him Buyo." She told her mother.

"Are you going to take him to the shelter?" she asked.

"I was wondering if we could keep him." She smiled her brightest and looked at her mom with pleading eyes.

"You're going to be out of the house soon." Her mother argued.

"I could claim him as emotional support." She half joked.

"We'll see. You're in charge of taking care of him, though." Her mother eyed the feline warily. With a quick check up from a family friend vet, Buyo was now part of the Higurashi household. Temporarily, maybe? Kagome was smiling again.


	5. Chapter 4

"Ah, Kagome!" She looked up at the sound of her name. She saw Kohaku.

"Oh hey!" she waved and he came over.

"Word is you guys got a cat." Kohaku smiled brightly. Kagome nodded.  
"Yup. The animal obsessed family finally has a pet." She laughed sheepishly.

"I honestly don't know how you've always done it. I feel bad, but I just can't touch em." Kohaku told her.

"It's not a super huge deal for me." Kagome shrugged nervously. They were friends, but they hadn't talked in a while. Things were awkward. Maybe she was just an awkward person.

"I remember you and Sango were always getting in trouble with animals." Kohaku brought up the past.

"Yeah, real trouble makers." She played with the ends of her sleeves to distract herself. It was getting late and cloudy which was not ideal. She spaced for a second before realizing they asked her a question.

"Sorry, can you repeat that?" blood rushed to her face involuntarily.

"What's your motivation behind helping all those animals?" he asked. Great. A weird question. She'd already written about it in a ton of college essays.

"Animals aren't as complex as humans. It's only humans that abuse and animals don't deserve to be an outlet for that. They don't deserve human abandonment and pain." She recited the answer almost by rote memory.

"That's deep." he replied. He suddenly remembered something.

"Sango was wondering if you guys were going to go to the engagement." Kohaku asked. Kagome's heart caught in her throat.

"Uhh, yeah. Tell her my mom is making plans to come over. We're just busy with animals right now. You know, the usual. We'll call you." Kagome straight up lied.

"Nice. See you there." He waved and they parted ways.

On her way home, Kagome stopped by the edge of town to get a view of the ocean. Rolling blue and the crash of waves. She grabbed onto the metal railing. It was getting late out. But she turned to see _him_ again. She gasped and clutched onto her chest.

"God, you scared me." She breathed of slowly and let her hand drop. He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Are you following me or something?" she raised an eyebrow.

"You…you cry too much." He didn't say it like an insult, but it felt like one.

"Please leave if you have nothing useful to say." Aren't kids supposed to learn that in preschool? Do weird human-animal amalgamations go to school? She wasn't about to ask him.

"My father is keen on the idea you are proof humans are not all sublevel rubbish. I care to disagree." He said in his blunt way.

"Your father? What would he know about me?" she decided to ignore the blazing insult for now.

"Clearly nothing." He replied.

"You're an inu youkai, right? A dog demon?" She asked once it came to her head. She would never admit it, but she had done her research.

"Inu _dai_ youkai." He corrected while looking insulted.

"I'm sorry, is there a difference?" she asked rhetorically.

"Daiyoukais are incomparable to Hanyous." He answered in all seriousness. Hanyou. She knew that term. They were a different type of inu youkai?... Half! They were half dog. Other half human.

"Well I'm full human and if you don't want to be around me, then get out." She shooed him off a little. It was hard to believe he was a little tiny dog.

"I don't have the choice." He growled, his voice lowering.

"Please don't stay the night. I have a cat now and he's not fond of dogs." She clutched the straps of her backpack. He said nothing, just near her.

"That's weird, you know. Your father sounds like a weird guy." She peaked back at him. Yup. He looked annoyed.

"Your whole 'holier than thou' gig got you into this whole mess. Don't you think it's time to stop being so stubborn?" she felt his furious presence behind her. A chill ran through her back. God, wasn't he fun to be with.

"Why do you think demons are better than humans?" she asked, hoping to get a response.

"We outmatch humans in every arena." He answered.

"Even in brains? Creativity? Compassion? You can't just have brains or brawn; you need both. History clearly shows us that." She knew she wouldn't be able to change his opinion. He was like a brick wall in every sense. The closer she got to home, the more uneasy she got.

"So, what do you need to do to appease your father or whatever?" she asked, wanting him to go away. She continued to follow the metal railing as they got into more wooded areas.

"I believe he has misplaced ideals about you." Was all he replied.

"Probably." She answered back.

"But I'm not the best representative for the human race." She shrugged at him. She felt a drip. Drop. Drip. She looked up at the storm clouds.

"You have got to be kidding!" She held her hands over her face. She looked back, but the man kept his same stoic appearance.

"As much as I enjoy your company, it's time you get going." She shouted sarcastically at him. The rain poured down in sheets. God, that came out of no where! She had groaned when her ears perked up. Her eyes scanned the area.

"Do you hear that?" she muttered and looked around more. Of course he did. It was common sense that dogs have better senses of hearing and smell than humans. That on top of being a demon.

"God, that sounds like a kid." Her heart sped up as she looked down. She ignored her brick wall companion and soon saw a head of brown hair down in the trees. With the onslaught of rain, the slope on the way down was now hopelessly muddy. The ground probably had more hardness to it earlier and everything fell together in her head.

"Hello?" she called out a few times. The kid stopped crying and looked up in surprise He ran out.

"Please help me!" he yelled out.

"Are you stuck down there?" she yelled. He probably couldn't hear her through the rain and wind, though. She quickly took off her coat in a sense of déjà vu.

"Sorry, guess you gotta try me again tomorrow night. Maybe I'll even prepare a room for our much honored guest." She said sarcastically, but couldn't help smiling. He's got to get out of her hair now! This situation was clearly occupying her.

"I'm coming!" she shouting and stepped into the mud. You know how in preschool everyone is kind of ok with playing in the dirt? No one really cared about bugs or germs. Kids she knew growing up who had no problem holding handfuls of words now freak out at ants. The fact is, she never really outgrew that. Her shoes were now mud-caked as she ran down to the kid.

"Hey, my name is Kagome. I'm a high school student here." She told him. He kept on crying.

"Are you ok?" she asked. He was wiping at his tears.

"My ball got blown away." He cried out.

"And you went after it, right?" she bent down to his level. He nodded.

"It's stuck in that tree now and I can't reach it!" he cried out and pointed up. She looked back and the man was still standing by the railing. Probably too high and mighty for a little mud.

"I'll get it for you, kay?" she smiled at him and cracked her knuckles. She climbed up branch by branch until she reached its level. She had to be careful or else it would blow away again. The rain seeped through the leaves and branches and soaked her shirt in some areas. Good thing she wasn't wearing white.

"Got it!" she yelled and got a hold of the beach ball. It was little and blown up with air. That's a recipe for gone with the wind. She climbed down a little clumsily, but found it was worth it when he smiled.

"Let's get you back up, okay? Look, I'll even carry you." She opened her arms and bent down. He was small and super cute, so she picked him up and made her way through the mud.

"You couldn't bother to help, could you?" she yelled at the man. He did not react, so she just sighed.

"Do you know what your address is?" she asked the kid. He shook his head.

"Do you know how to get to your house at all?" she asked hopefully. He _was_ only a kid. He shook his head again. She had reached the top and finally let him down.

"Do you know where your parents work out where they could be? Phone numbers?" he kept on shaking his head.  
"I'm sorry, Kagome-nee-san." He started to tear up again.  
"No, no, no! You're fine." She slipped her coat onto him.

"Who's that." He pointed to the man. He narrowed his eyes.

"He may look big and scary, but don't worry about him." She picked up the kid again.

"What's your name?" she asked him.

"Shippou." He held onto her.

"Well, Shippou, I'm going to take you to the police station, kay?" he nodded.

"We're going to try finding your mommy and daddy. Grumpy-nii-san will be tagging along." She casted a glance at him. Still, he did not react. And so they walked in the rain and arrived. She let him down before they entered.

"These people are going to be able to help you much more than I can." She told him and he grabbed her hand. It made her heart melt. She walked in and the person at the front desk looked up.

"Excuse me, I, uh, have a lost child with me." Kagome spoke up. She looked down, but Shippou was gone.

"Where'd he go?" she looked around and looked past the glass doors, but he was nowhere in sight.

"Did you see where the little boy I entered with went?" she asked. The person looked exasperated.

"Are you ok, miss? You entered the building alone." They answered. Kagome became aware of how wet and muddy she was.

"Yes. I'm sorry to waste your time. I got to go." She ran out and saw him. The man.

"Where's the kid?" she asked him. He looked up at her lazily.

"Gone. Couldn't you tell the child was not human?" he asked her.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"A kitsune. Fox demon." He said.

"A trickster…so that was all a trick?" she put a hand to her head.

"And I was so worried." She sighed.

"The kid took off with my coat!" she exclaimed in sudden realization. She groaned wiped some water off her face. The day's excursion had exhausted her out.

"Can you, like, transport me back home?" she joked miserably. It was a solid 20-30 minute walk in this weather. It was almost dark and her mother would _definitely_ kill her.

"No, and if I did I would never use my powers for something so mundane. It's your own blunder that you were so easily tricked." He told her.

"Can _you_ just disappear?" she muttered sarcastically. Just like the little boy.

"We shall part ways." He told her and left.

"Great! That's just awesome for you!" she shouted. The unlucky few outside at that moment stared at the crazy girl from under their umbrellas. She looked around and sighed.

"Great." She muttered.


	6. Chapter 5

"Buyo!" Kagome shouted. How many times has she shouted at Souta for leaving the doors open around her cat? How many times has he caused trouble because he's an annoying kid?

"I can't believe you, Souta!" She shouted and ran after her cat. She looked out for the calico around the shrine grounds. Souta and she had enjoyed running around and climbing trees around the property. They were older now, though, and didn't have time to play pretend.

"Buyo!" She shouted again. She heard hissing and whipped in that direction. She quickly saw the long haired man near her cat!  
"You!" she pointed at him.

"You left me in the rain!" she shouted.

"Sesshoumaru." He said.

"What?" she asked.

"I am not 'you,' I am Sesshoumaru." He corrected coldly.

"You're joking." she said, but his expression was not that of a joke.

"What type of name is that?" she raised her eyebrows.

"You must use –sama while addressing me." He commanded. He had irked her.  
"How about I call you Sesshou?" she stated more than asked. She had irked him. She couldn't help but laugh at the thought of 'Sesshy-chan.'

"You laugh at me, human?" he asked.

"No, uh, no it's nothing like that." She waved her hands around.

"Let's compromise and call you Sesshou-sama," She said, "but, in turn, you have to call me by my name. Higurashi-san even works."

"I refuse." He answered. She sighed.

"Some things never change, I guess." She noticed Buyo had found himself wound up around her legs. She smiled and picked him up. Gosh, this man-Sesshoumaru…he had barged into her life head on. She didn't completely understand why he had to keep coming back. His father or some circumstance?

"Your circumstances confuse me." She told him.

"But what I can gather is, well, what I'm saying is…this whole thing. It's kind of hopeless." She nervously stroked Buyo's fur.

"This is more of a nuisance for you than it's changing your opinion on anything. Your opinion on humans. It's the same, isn't it?" she gathered up the courage to meet his eyes. Certainly not one human by herself could change the mind of this man. This man has deep rooted hatred. She did not know the origins, so she could not understand him. She took some steps away and was surprised he did not follow. She turned away, but stopped for a moment.

"That kitsune the other day. I don't regret helping him." She told him honestly before turning around again. Her heart was hammering in her chest, but no more fear. She felt light. Was he done with her now? Was she upset about it? Was she light due to euphoria or something else?

"Bad kitty." She muttered to Buyo.

"God, I can't believe you, Souta." Kagome shouted as she entered and made sure to close the door. When she turned around, she saw Sango. Angry Sango. Miroku. Angry mom.

"Sango." Kagome said. Buyo jumped from her arms.

"Why did you keep the engagement party hidden from us, Kagome?" her mother asked. Kagome couldn't move. Couldn't speak. Everything was crashing down.

"You lied to Kohaku, Kagome." Sango accused. It made Kagome shrink.

"You're back." Kagome whispered. The ground was a boat on a stormy sea. She was fighting to keep balance. The waves were about to crush her into nothing at any moment.

"Why would I return to my hometown before my wedding?" Sango yelled.  
"You would have know that if you came." Her eyes were hurt now. That struck Kagome harder than the anger.

"No, I'm sorry. I can explain." Kagome was ready with half baked rehearsed conversations. She wasn't ready.

"If something is wrong, you need to talk to me. Did you not want to see me?" Sango took a step closer. She was wearing nice makeup. She started using it by the end of high school. Kagome admired her friend's skill and beauty. Things were different now, though.

"No." Kagome insisted.

"Friends are supposed to communicate. Are we friends, Kagome?" Sango stared straight into her eyes.

"Y-Yes." Kagome was ashamed. Burning and freezing over. Heart fluttering like a heavy stone rolling down a hill. Descending.

"I don't understand why you'd do this, then. The Kagome I know wouldn't trick her family and hurt her best friend." Sango had tears in her eyes. Kagome never wanted to hurt her. Kagome never wanted anyone hurting. She'd always tried to help, but when it mattered the most…She failed. She failed.

"I'm sorry, just let me-" Kagome had tears, too.

"No! There's no justification for this!" Sango yelled.

"There is, just let me speak!" Kagome yelled back.

"What is there to say? It was a mistake?" Kagome looked to her mother for help. She saw nothing, though. No way out.

"This isn't my fault!" she yelled.

"Is it my fault you went off and stopped talking to me? What was I supposed to do? I was alone, Sango. You left me all alone." Months of pain were washing up. Waves upon the shore and all that was left was the fizzling sea form.

"If you felt this way, you should have told me!" Sango pointed. Her fury was back. God.

"It's not, it's not that easy." Kagome insisted. Her vision was blurring against her will. She couldn't cry in front of all of them like this. She kept her eyes wide open and bit her lip. Her heart was wringing. Seeping pain.

"It is! You just have to dial the phone, Kagome." Sango did not understand. Sango refused to understand. Their friendship was too cracked to ever be repaired. Everything was bound to come crashing like this eventually. Unfortunately, everything had to crush Kagome.

"Why didn't you?" Kagome shouted.

"I was at college, Kagome! I had a job and my interning." Sango defended.

"So you don't think I'm busy here, too? Freaking out about college and grades?" Kagome responded.

"That's entirely different." Sango responded. Kagome shook her head.

"No. You've been through this, too. I supported you through it. But once you were out, you didn't need to look back at me. You don't understand. None of you understand. I can't believe-!" She was hysterical. She looked around at the accusatory, angry faces. Get out.

Get out.

Get out. Get out get out _get out get…!_

She ran out. Door flung open and she ran. She _sprinted_. She heard shouts all around her, but she kept running. The tears finally spilled down her face as she struggled to breath. Her throat was constricted and her chest was heavy. Still, she ran. Farther and farther away. Legs burning. Just another step forward. The taste of blood. Just spit it out. Snot running, obscuring her ability to breathe. Just…god, she needed to breath. She skidded to a stop, coughing and spluttering. She wiped at her face, but more tears were falling. For the first time, she wished for rain. On the night with clear skies she desperately wanted rain to soak her through and calm her burning heart. She wanted the rain to wash away the tears on her face. She wanted to disappear in the rain. She shrunk to the ground and hugged her knees. She cried out. This was all her fault. She wanted to believe this was Sango's fault, too, but it wasn't. Not at all. She had buried herself here. She cried as loud as she wanted. No one was here. She was alone.

"Kagome." She heard him. The man. Her face burned as she wiped away the snot and tears.

"Leave me alone." She said. She buried her face in an attempt to hide the red splotches and puffy eyes.

"I think I understand some more." He said begrudgingly. She peaked at him and sniffed.

"What?" he confused her. This was hardly the time for an emotional get-together.

"It's senseless, really. You help those creatures, blind to yourself." He couldn't believe he was saying this her. She was so small, though. Curled up and crying.

"What?" she repeated and rubbed at her eyes. In surprise, he picked her up. Her watery eyes widened. She found herself secure in his arms.

"You don't realize it, but you are akin to those stray dogs you pick up without a thought.

You've always been the injured dog on the side of the road, but you failed to see it."

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